BURN THE HORSE
Since UALR Coach Steve Shields took
over 10 seasons ago his teams have been very good in same-season blowout
rematch games. |
BTH UALR GAMEDAY |
UALR has gone 10-1 in games against
opponents who beat them by 10 or more points in an earlier meeting the same
season. The Trojans (8-4) will get another chance tonight as they host
Louisiana Tech (8-3) at 7 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
Louisiana Tech beat UALR 70-52 in
November in Ruston, La.
It started in the 2003-2004 season
in which UALR won the Sun Belt Conference’s East Division. The Trojans lost
85-50 at Middle Tennessee, and then beat Middle Tennessee 69-62 in the same
week.
Typically, the first game has been
on the road and the second game at home. The exceptions came in 2010-2011 when
UALR lost 86-50 to Oral Roberts in Tulsa and then beat ORU 52-49 in Las Vegas. And
last year, UALR lost 68-49 at home to Louisiana-Lafayette and then beat the Ragin’
Cajuns 72-70 in Lafayette, La.
The only loss in the second game
during the Steve Shields era came in the 2008-2009 season. UALR lost 79-47 at
Western Kentucky in the first meeting. UALR also lost the rematch 78-69 at home
in the game in which Steven Moore walked off the bench in the first half.
Here’s the complete list:
- YEAR OPPONENT 1ST 2ND
- 2003-2004 Western Kentucky L, 86-71 W, 68-60
- 2004-2005 Middle Tennessee L, 85-50 W, 69-62
- 2004-2005 Arkansas State L, 78-64 W, 73-67
- 2005-2006 Appalachian State L, 75-65 W, 78-63
- 2006-2007 Troy L, 82-70 W, 79-71
- 2007-2008 Arkansas State L, 77-62 W, 82-52
- 2007-2008 Denver L, 54-40 W, 66-55
- 2008-2009 Western Kentucky L, 79-47 L, 78-69
- 2010-2011 Oral Roberts L, 86-60 W, 52-49
- 2010-2011 South Alabama L, 92-79 W, 82-68
- 2011-2012 Louisiana-Lafayette L, 68-49 W, 72-70
- 2012-2013 Louisiana Tech L, 70-52 TBA
BURN BABY BURN
If you put stock in the RPI (Ratings
Percentage Index), tonight’s game should be pretty intriguing. Louisiana Tech
comes in rated No. 107 and UALR No. 108 in the RPI, a system utilized by
postseason tournament selection committees to compare teams. Louisiana Tech is
at 0.5377 and UALR at 0.5374. UALR has played the tougher schedule to date.
UALR’s schedule is ranked 142 while Louisiana Tech’s is 283.
KEYS TO VICTORY
Freedom rings: Louisiana Tech gets
to the free throw line a ton more than its opponents. UALR wants to get there
as well. UALR needs to force the issue and get some easy buckets at the charity
stripe tonight.
Relegate Raheem: Whether it comes
down to designated stopper Leroy Isler or somebody else, UALR has to limit the
points for Louisiana Tech’s Raheem Appleby. In La Tech’s loss to McNeese State,
Appleby was held to 4 points. UALR held him to seven in the first meeting and
needs to stay on him again tonight.
Pressure cooker: UALR was definitely
more composed in handling Tulsa’s press on Saturday. That’s going to have to
continue when Louisiana Tech turns up the heat in the backcourt tonight. UALR
had 18 turnovers in the first meeting and needs to stay closer to 12 tonight,
VEGAS, BABY
Louisiana Tech comes in as a 2 point
favorite tonight. UALR has been an underdog at home only once this season,
beating Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
PREDICTIONS
Four of the five predictors go with UALR by a narrow margin. USA Today's Jeff Sagarin the only one who picks Louisiana Tech. On average, UALR is picked to win by 1.2 points:
OMNIRANKINGS (3-0): UALR 68, La Tech 67
OMNIRANKINGS (3-0): UALR 68, La Tech 67
REAL TIME RPI (10-1): UALR 74, La
Tech 71
THE SPORTS NETWORK (9-1): UALR 69, La Tech 65
JEFF SAGARIN (9-2): La Tech 76, UALR
73
CBS SPORTSLINE (9-2): UALR 66, La Tech 65
BTH AVERAGE (9-2): UALR 70.0, La
Tech 68.8
